March, 2014

So it has recently been brought to my attention that A. I eat out too freakin’ much and B. I am terrible at staying on a budget. Seriously, The Captain and I are trying really hard to be “savers” but damn we are so awful. It’s not easy when we are surrounded by amazing and delish vegan food. San Diego has the best lil’ hidden gems and note only one is an actual vegan joint, these places just have stellar food.

1. Mission Coffee Cup: I eat at this La Jolla hot spot at least once a week. It’s a serious problem. I crave their Papas Loco, no dairy, sub corn tortillas, and add tofu on the reg. The servers and management are so super awesome and oh yeah, the coffee is pretty excellent too. They always have a delicious special up on the board and multiple veggie friendly options. Ohhh and the chai latte is so brilliant that you will never be able to order a nasty Starbucks-from-a-box-stuff ever again. I love this place!!! They do it right! They’re only open for breakfast and lunch and prepare to wait for table if you are hitting it up on a weekend! It’s worth the wait! My favorite restaurant in SD.

2. Neighborhood: I ate here this weekend and devoured my whole black bean burger veganized, add mango sauce, and sub garlic fries before I could be bothered to remember to take a picture. Oops. This place has the coolest vibe ever. The waitstaff is all super hipsters who are crazy friendly and know their freakin’ beers!! So yes, sign me up. ANYTIME. I’ve never taken someone here and had them not leave super happy and super full. They have a few veggie friendly burgers and salads, so vegans have a few options. On top of all the super awesome they have a super secret speak easy in the back! So hipster! Let’s get this straight. They have awesome food, TONS of booze, and their logo is Jesus eating a hamburger. Yep, perfection.

3. The Kebab Shop: This place is a San Diego business major success story! When we moved into the East Village, there was a solitary Kebab Shop and it was heaven. We ate there at least 2 times a week. Super inexpensive and delicious food!!! They now have 6 locations around San Diego and the food is just as brilliant. I love it!!! Omg. I daydream about my falafel döner, no garlic sauce, add spicy hummus, add french fries… Or if I’m feeling particularly frisky I’ll add saffron rice like I did the last time I was there. They have the most delicious veggie kebabs, shawarma, etc etc. It’s all delicious and I’m never happier than when I have a döner food baby in my tummy!

4. Siam Nara: So my good ole buddy Christina from Mom. Fashion. Lifestyle. introduced me to Amarin Thai, which is brilliant, but not close enough for when we want to have a take out/redbox kinda night. Insert Siam Nara, AT’s sister restaurant. It’s literally the same menu, praise be to the heavens!! With the best veggie tom yum I’ve ever had and a garlic veggie dish that will blow your mind wide open! It’s all good and they have a completely veggie menu made without fish sauce, chicken stock, and all the other hidden stuff common in Thai cuisine. It’s the real deal.

5. Moncai Vegan: I’m new to this place, but I’ve already been twice and I have a date their this week, SO EXCITED! They have a small menu, but damn it’s good. On Sunday they do a brunch from 9-2, for 13 dollars you get biscuits and gravy, tofu scramble, tempeh bacon, potatoes, fruit, and the best freakin’ pancakes that exist on the planet. Seriously. The Captain, not a vegan, said after eating these pancakes, “vegan or not, this is the best pancake I’ve ever eaten.” BOOM. I can’t make this shit up! They are like heaven… in your mouth. I highly suggest this North Park spot!!!

I love sushi, like LOVE-LOVE sushi. Being a veggie doesn’t mean that I don’t get to enjoy my sweet, sweet nori wrapped goodness. Veggie sushi is literally the most delish food on the planet. I can [and have] lived off of avocado rolls for weeks. It’s a great food pairing, easy on the digestive system, and so super yummy. I while ago my good buddy Chelsea and I decided to try and make our own sushi. It worked smashingly well. Here’s a post from back in the olden days if you’d like to see how that went down!! I love taking the time to make rice and yada, yada… but sometimes you just ain’t got no damn time. That’s when I pop a bag of Seeds of Change brown rice into the microwave, quickly boil and blanche some thin asparagus, and slice an avocado. Boom. You just have to roll your sushi and enjoy. Seriously. It’s crazy easy. If you want to pop a sweet potato in the microwave, cut up some baked tofu, or pea shoots or anything else your crazy brain can fathom!! Get creative!! Have fun!!! Namaste!

I was such a little rebel when I was a teenager. Constantly in detention for talking back to incompetent sub-teachers, taking any opportunity to tell my less evolved classmates what I thought of them, wearing pajamas and zit cream to school– dirty hair, don’t care. I got decent grades and never got in a fist fight, so my parents were never very concerned. They knew I was a weird kid. Honestly, I can’t tell if I was straight up awesome or kind of a dick. Regardless, I met The Captain when I was 14 and we started dating when I was 16. I was smitten and as far as I could tell, I had found my lobster. I was done. So I cared even less about trying to impress people. I started walking to the beat of my own drum pretty early on and I honestly think that it was the key to my success. I’m a weirdo, I’m loud, I’m friendly, and I’m a bit of rebel. I don’t love rules so much and that’s where outfits like this evolve from, not caring. The skulls, the tweed, the angry shoulder pads, and the kick ass pumps. They are all a bit symbolic of that carefree attitude that live for. I love buying a piece of clothing, not because you think it’s appropriate, but because it truly speaks to something inside of you… In that way, fashion becomes more like collecting artwork and less like acquiring junk… I’m so unbelievable tired, yet I’m hopped up on a hazelnut latte so I apologize if this post reads like complete gibberish. Happy Wednesday Peeps!!!!!

I know I mention it quite a bit, but I love my city. San Diego is the best, like EVER!! While visiting our most favoritist farmers market, the Little Italy Mercato, I found my super hip sister-in-law found the coolest skincare vendor and made my dayweekmonth year. What can I say!? Skincare makes me giddy and The Holistic Science Co. is the bomb dot com. I am so obsessed with their products, their ohhhh-so-many products. Natural toothpastes, mouthwash, lotions, sunscreens, and so on and so forth!!! All of the products are handmade in San Diego by the majorly cool Holistic Science team. Seriously, they are so great. They will spend ages talking to you about their products, why they were developed, what’s in them, and how to use them. Every product has a 100% satisfaction guarantee which is magical when you have the most unpredictable skin ever. I have been using the Pure SPF-15 Facial Moisturizer and the Ultra Corrective Facial Cream for a few months now and I am just absolutely loving them! Both products are vegan, #winning. My skin has been so moisturized and glowing since I’ve started using this regime. My acne still flares up now and again, but it’s all hormonal around my chin, so I can deal. The Intense Nourishing Cocoa Butter is so great on my crazy dry legs and helps with my booty stretch marks… what? Girl’s got some hips!! They sell at the Little Italy and Hillcrest farmers markets and all of their products are available online. You can also check them out on Twitter and Facebook. I totally suggest that you do!!!!

I’ve made this curry approximately 3,384 times since I found it on Pinterest. It is so easy and delicious that it will have you coming back for more and more and then some more. Seriously, it’s that good!! It’s from Julia’s Album and damnnnn does this chick know her garbanzos! The only thing that I change is omitting the brown sugar and adding a TON of cayenne pepper, like 2-3 teaspoons depending on my mood. It is a meal that is sure to please even the most meaty of meat eaters. Swearsies.

It’s getting toasty so I’ve got to wear my kick ass pleather pants as many times as I can swing before it just gets too darn hot. Luckily the nights stay pretty cool so I can try and rock these a few more times before summer hits!! I love these faux leather pants, they might not be the most comfortable pants in my closet, but to feel that cool I don’t need to fully bend my knees all night… C’est la vie, living on the edge, blah, blah, blah. I particularly love them paired with the most comfortable long sleeved tee on the planet. I don’t know how Vince does it. I swear their tshirts are made with unicorn tears and puppy kisses. They are not cheap, but if you keep an eye out Nordies Rack will have them for 50-60% off! Even TJ Maxx’s runway section carries Vince, so be on the lookout! I would kill somebody in front of their own Mama for Vince tee. I will give you 2 million dollars if you can tell me what weirdo television cartoon that’s from? I’m lying. I will give you zero dollars if you get my random Aqua Teen Hunger Force quote. So happy Wednesday, getcha some leather pants!!! photos via Kelsey Erin Photography | [tee] Vince from Nordies Rack, but I’m obsessed with this one and this one and this one too [pants] BB Dakota, mine are discontinued loving this pair [pumps] super old Shoemint, think these are great, but OBSESSED with this pair. [rings] Various Etsy sellers and House of Harlow

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